Greene sues Herald and Times for libel

Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene accused The Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times in a libel lawsuit filed Wednesday of orchestrating a ``plan to assassinate [his] character'' that cost him the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Florida.

Greene, who lost to Miami U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek by 26 percentage points, said the newspapers published stories about his real estate dealings in California and his 145-foot yacht Summerwind that were ``knowingly based on false information.''

``Defendants . . . published the articles with the goal of destroying the personal, business and political reputation of Greene,'' the suit claims.

Greene, represented by prominent Atlanta lawyer L. Lin Wood, is seeking a total of $500 million in damages from the two papers. More here.